1856 FLYING EAGLE 1C PR66+

FABULOUS GLOSSY SURFACES. CONDITION CENSUS. ONLY THREE COINS GRADED HIGHER. Although not a regular issue, and certainly not a coin that the Mint intended for circulation, the 1856 is wrightly regarded as the first small-size Cent in U.S. coinage history. The proof 1856 Flying Eagle Cent is technically a pattern that Mint officials prepared to familiarize Congressional leaders with how the new Cent would look. The coins proved so popular, however, that many Congressmen took to distributing them as gifts. The Mint was soon beset with orders for additional examples, some of these originating from government officials but other almosty certainly comign from contemporary collectors. Thse requests continued to roll in well into 1860, at which time the Lincoln-Breckinridge presidential race and the growing secessionist movement in the South diverted attention to national politics. We can only estimate the number of proof 1856 Flying Eagles that the Mint struck. Based on the number of coins that have survived, it is likely that somewhere between 1,650-2,350 examples were struck. Flying Eagle and Indian Cent specialist Rick Snow (2001) asserts that these coins were delivered during two different striking periods, the first in 1856 and the second from 1857 through 1860. Today, the 1856 Flying Eagle Cent is one of the most popular and eagerly sought coins in all of U.S. numismatics. Examples are strong in performers irrespective of grade, but the most desirable representatives are problem-free specimens that grade Proof-60 and finer. These coins are rarer than one might suspect for a pattern issue that was never intended for circulation. Many 1856 Flying Eagle Cents were carelessly handled by Congressmen and other government officials, and additional examples were placed into circulation in later years either accidentally or by design. Strong demand from today's collectors and investors ensures that problem-free, high-grade 1856 Flying Eagles never remain on the market for long.